Dwindling non-renewable energy sources, along with the negative environment impact associated with consuming non-renewable energy sources, has greatly increased the demand for renewable energy. One form of renewable energy is hydroelectric power, in which the flow of fluid, such as water, is utilized to generate electrical energy. Some of the advantages of hydroelectric power include use of an energy source is sustainable (e.g., as rain falls it replenishes a river where the equipment is located) and the flow of water is relatively “clean” (e.g., there is very little generation of unwanted byproducts such as is created by the burning of fossil fuels).
A water wheel is one form of hydroelectric equipment that converts the energy of free-flowing or falling water into rotational energy. A water wheel consists of a large wheel with a number of blades or containers arranged on an outside rim forming a driving surface. Water is typically diverted from a water source (e.g., a river) or storage basin along a channel or pipe and the downward force exerted on the blades or containers drives the wheel, which in turn rotates an axle that may drive other machinery. Water leaving the wheel may be drained through a channel but may also be directed into yet another wheel, turbine or mill. The passage of water may be controlled by sluice gates that allow maintenance and some measure of flood control.
Water wheels have traditionally been used with watermills, where the water wheel drives a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping (rolling, grinding or wire drawing). However, modern hydroelectric dams have taken advantage of downward water flow due to gravitational forces.
One major drawback of known hydroelectric power systems is the negative environmental impact the structures can have on the environment. For example, typically dams are erected on a running water source, such as a river, and are used to generate a steady supply of falling water that is used for generation of electricity. However, it is well known that placing barriers in a river can negatively impacts the animal life naturally occurring in the river, even preventing some species from migrating to spawning grounds. These barriers can have unanticipated negative effects on still other animal species that are affected by the decline of the species blocked or hindered by the hydroelectric equipment.
In an attempt to mitigate the negative effects such equipment causes, bypasses have been provided in dams to allow various species to move up and down a river past the hydro-electric equipment. However, such bypasses have only been marginally effective as the vast majority of the water way still remains blocked.
Known systems also suffer from other deficiencies, including a lack of efficiency and the inability to scale down their size for smaller uses. One system that has effectively allowed for scaled down use is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 9,890,761 to Kastan (“the '761 patent”), which discloses a wheel that is driven by falling water and includes at least two containers supported by beams on an outer end where the ends are each adapted to allow the containers to travel along a length of the support beam. Accordingly, a container is allowed to travel outward relative to an axis of rotation of the wheel, when the container is filled with a fluid when the wheel rotates causing the beam travel downward relative to the ground. The weight of the fluid and the container cause the container to travel outward providing enhanced rotational torque due to the increased distance from the container to the axis of rotation. Conversely, an opposing empty container is moved inward toward the axis of rotation reducing the resistance caused by the lifting of the container. While the '761 patent was a major improvement over known systems, the design of the system was limited in that a maximum torque created by the outward moving container is limited to a relatively small number of containers within an angular range of the wheel that are on a downward trajectory.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a superior system and method for low environmental impact generation of hydroelectric power.